Longitudinal stress fracture of the tibia: two cases.

Stress fracture of the tibia occurs in individuals who subject their extremities to repeated trauma. They can arise in otherwise healthy bone that is subjected to excessive loads (as in the marathon runner) or in abnormal bone that is subjected to minor loads (as in osteoporosis). These fractures may be anywhere along the tibial shaft and tend to be either transverse or oblique in orientation. We report two cases of stress fracture that ran longitudinally in the distal one third of the tibia. Both patients were healthy and did not describe excessive physical activity prior to fracture. Both describe a repetitive twisting action prior to fracture. Computed tomography was diagnostic in both cases following abnormal bone scans and normal plain radiographs. This unusual pattern of fracture has been reported on only four occasions in five patients in the literature.